Favorites From the Holocron
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“You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
There are so many wonderful homeschooling moms that I rely on for homeschooling ideas, crazy kid commiserating, humor, and the occasionally much-needed kick in the pants reality check. I want to give a big and public thank you out to all the homeschoolers and homeschooling supporters that have helped to smooth the way along this sometimes Belgium Block bumpy road that Padawan Learner, Dad Windu and I are traveling.
Sometimes you just need to know that there are others out there that have been there, done that, and lived to tell about it – people that you can call on (or type at) when you’re most feeling like you’re a) on the brink of tossing it all in; b) about to make either the best or worst decision of your life; or c) absolutely over-joyed at the complete un-spectacular-ness of the day. I know some of your faces, many of your names, and even a couple of your kitchens. You mean the world to me.
“Oh, excuse me. So sorry.” – TC-14, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
I’ve been riding the job search and homeschooling-in-the-midst-of-the-unknown rollar coaster with Dad Windu and Padawan Learner these past couple of months, and, while it’s been going pretty well, it’s had its ups and downs. That’s the biggest reason this place has been so quiet. I’m driving 6 white horses, coming around the mountain, and – what the song doesn’t mention - there’s this cliff on the other side of the path that’s making me hug the mountain more than I’m used to. So homeschooling is keeping on, keeping on and going well. Marriage is going well. Blogging (my release and often-times entertainment), not so much.
At one point we thought we were going to be moving to almost the very northern-most tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In case you don’t know where that is, it’s waaaay the h*ll up there (technical term) and surrounded by Lake Superior on three sides. Average high of 78 F (25C) in July and 16 F (-9C) in January. 208 inches (528 cm) of snow a year on average. I know! There are two seasons up there, if you ask a local - ”winter’s here and winter’s coming.”
Yes, we were pretty sure we were going to be moving there after DW met with the group leader in the company’s Detroit-area office. Couldn’t have asked for a more encouraging guy. The group leader in the UP though, not so encouraging. Not being ‘a local’ was apparently a big point against DW; the two interviewers spent most of the meeting basically trying to talk him OUT of wanting the job. “No shopping to speak of up here.” “Winters are long and hard, so you can’t try to just wait them out.” “Everything’s a long way from here, so traveling other places doesn’t happen very often.” “We don’t have furniture stores to speak of.” You get the picture.
Meanwhile, while he’s in his interview, I was scraping the local librarian’s brain clean about local homeschooling resources and groups and variety. I was getting more and more excited about the homeschooling opportunities in the immediate area. Oh, and have I mentioned that we found the cutest little house – with a cast-iron circular staircase connecting the main and upper floors – for $27,700? No, I didn’t leave a zero out. For approximately the same price of a new car, we could have owned a 2 bedroom, 2 bath home that was as cute as a button. (Just shoot me now). I was getting geared up and ready to go.
Just to make things interesting, of course, the reality of an impending move really hit Padawan Learner up there and … well, it wasn’t pretty. I’ll just leave it at that.
In the end, DW got a FOAD letter in the mail from the UP leader – as vague as can be, of course. The Detroit guy is disgusted. DW is confused and thinking, “WTF was that all about?” PL is feeling bad for DW but also guilty about feeling relieved that we’re not moving – yet. I’m exhausted about putting so much mental effort into finding ways to make sure this transition goes smoothly – for naught.
*deep breathing*
And now we’re hopping back on the maybe this is it train. Dad Windu and I are headed out into the heart of the great frozen midwest this weekend. (PL is staying with friends.) We’re quietly optimistic, but (truthbetold) we’re afraid to get our hopes up too high. There’s been a lot of “Oh, I’m just doing a little Internet surfing” digging by me. It’s what I do. The job appears to be a good fit for DW and the city looks like we’d be comfortable there.
So, happy thoughts everyone. *fairy dust, fairy dust* We’re going to need them.
“Exciting is hardly the word I would choose.” – C-3PO, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
We three Jedi have seen our share of pavement lately (and concrete and bridges), and it’s taken a toll on our homeschooling routine. **Take a piece of paper, run it through the keep-your-identity-nice-and-safe chipper/shredder, toss them all up into the air with a forced “Yippee!” (knowing full well that you’re only going to have to pick up all those little bits in about 30 seconds) and you’ll understand what I mean.** I may be going to go out on a limb here, but I think even Padawan Learner is tired of the unexpected days off as we drive from one corner of the state to another and another and another.
One thing I’m learning in this whole Dad Windu lay-off situation is that routine is our friend, our really good friend. PL and I do our usual math, writing and history/science stuff in the living room each morning while Dad Windu goes upstairs to practice Spanish, do some more job search stuff, and keep up with his professional network. In short, he stays out of our way and we stay out of his as we all get down to work. After lunch, we go about our own special projects.
There are so many things up in the air, and some unpleasant realities that we’re probably going to be facing in the months to come, that our routine is becoming a bit of a security blanket for the three of us. Christmas and the scheduled week-long break that followed it were nice, of course, but a bit too distracting at this already wildly distracted period of our lives. Normally PL looks forward to these days stolen away from our day-to-day routine, but on our way home after our Dutch class today he said a little wistfully, “Tomorrow’s just a regular ordinary day, right?” I know I breathed a sigh of relief when I answered, “Yes. Yes, it is.”
“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force.” – Yoda, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
We did something tonight that we always do after returning home from a trip, we marked the map with our route using dry erase markers. We keep our US map on the wall next to the kitchen table so we see it often. After marking up this trip, we decided to touch up the routes of previous trips as many of them had gotten smudged (and even almost rubbed off completely) over the years. The updated map can be seen here.
 PL marks up the map with our travel route. Padawan Learner drew out the line as Dad Windu and I recalled the route we had taken. It’s always interesting to look back on our trips with this new piece of information. Somehow it’s easier to put a long road trip in perspective when it’s laid out before you on a map. Not including any of the bits and pieces of extraneous driving that we did for side trips, we learned from Google Maps that we drove 4244 miles point to point, over the course of 18 days. Per PL, that’s an average of roughly 236 miles a day. (I’m not one to miss a chance to throw in some math practice when I can.)
Another friend has a large table in her dining room, so her family keeps full-size USA and world maps right on the table with a large, clear plastic tablecloth over them. Because of this, their meals often have geography content. If one of her sons hears a tidbit about Latvia on NPR, for example, the entire family can find it on the map and understand why Latvians get ansy when politicians in Moscow start reminiscing about a return to “the good old days” of the USSR.
Does your family do anything special with maps?
“Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force …” – Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
This is a shout-out to anyone that has been a traveler to, or resident near, places that were once part of the Wild West. For the past nine months or so, Dad Windu has thrown himself into learning about the people and places from this unique period in American history, particularly Wyatt Earp and his ilk. Padawan Learner and I briefly covered this time period at the end of last year and are revisiting it again early this year, so it is a fortunate merging of interests.
Considering the stressfulness of the past year, particularly the past seven months, we’re considering a trip to visit some of these places. Regardless of what happens to his position within the Galactic Republic, Dad Windu needs a break. “Financial insecurity, be damned,” I say. He’s earned this road-trip.
We would most likely be going sometime in early- or mid-winter (can you say, off-season), and we’re looking to do our roaming in either Texas and New Mexico or New Mexico and Arizona (via Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma). Do any of you have places you’d especially recommend for a visit, or recommend we avoid? Are there any places that have maintained their Old West history particularly well, or that have sadly turned their history into too much of a kitschy circus to bother? Inquiring minds want to know!
We’re huge fans of the National Parks as well, so we may try to fit a few of those in too. It just seems wrong to go all the way to Arizona and NOT see the Grand Canyon, or New Mexico and Carlsbad Caverns, or Texas and Big Bend. I know. I know. I sound like a former co-worker who flew in from The Netherlands and expected to see NYC, Disney World, the Grand Canyon and LA during his week-long visit – to the Midwest. The US just seems so much more manageable on Google maps. Oh well, at least we’re planning to give ourselves three weeks…
Gold Five: “Stay on target.”
Gold Leader: ”We’re too close!”
Gold Five: “Stay on target!”
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
We have learned that taking a day off our morning lessons means much more work than anyone ever expected to get caught back up. Of all the things we’d like to do at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon, catch-up work isn’t one of them. Live and learn.
“Mmm. Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has. How embarrassing. How embarrassing.” – Yoda, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
I went looking for a website today in the bowels of my bookmarks file. Oh, the tragedy.
There are approximately 9 trillion bookmarks in there because, frankly, there is just too much great stuff out there on the interwebs for a homeschooling mom to pass up. Is there a diagnosis for Bookmark Fever? And if so, is there a cure? To grab a few without looking I get…
You know how it is, I could go on and on. But, yes. I did eventually find that file for which I was looking. It was right there between The Great Magnet, the Earth and The Great Plant Escape. It became obvious as I was hunting around that PL has outgrown some of these bookmarks or they are simply no longer needed, so it looks like a little bookmark weeding is in order.
“I killed them. I killed them all. They’re dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too. They’re like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals. I HATE THEM!” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Alright, maybe our first day back wasn’t that bad. No one was slaughtered because of it, but – woobaby – I certainly wouldn’t have bet on both of us making it to 5 pm yesterday. What a lousy way to start a new school year. Three hours of work took from 9 am to 4 PM! With much griping and complaining and yelling and sarcasm to be had – (those last two from both of us I’m honest enough to add). If we’d had any whiskey in the house, I probably would have spiked my tea.
Today, though, was much better, great even. Was this just a further sign of puberty, too little sleep, or the rather pointed reminder that there’s a middle school within walking distance? I don’t even care; I’m just glad it didn’t continue into today. Today was more like our norm. Work, jokes, discussion, and remembering why we do this. Ahhh.
Anyone else get off to a rocky start this year?
C-3PO: ”His high exaltedness, the Great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately.”
Han Solo: ”Good, I hate long waits.”
C-3PO: ”You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea, and cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlaac.”
Han Solo: ”Doesn’t sound so bad.”
C-3PO: ”In his belly you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.”
Han Solo: ”On second thought, let’s pass on that, huh?”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Waiting is painful to me. Waiting for homeschooling to start each year is doubly painful. Toss in a new style of homeschooling – math, writing and history/science lessons in the morning and revolving topical lessons in the afternoons – and you’ve got a recipe for waiting disaster.
This is because I’m a planner by nature, no doubt I was born with a schedule book in one hand and a freshly sharpened #2 Ticonderoga pencil in the other. (My mother must have been in agony.) If given too much free time, I begin to “tweak” the homeschool lesson plan ad nauseum.
- Oh, this looks good. Add that in.
- Really can’t ignore that, it’s so interesting. Add that in.
- I never knew the library had so much on this topic. Add that in.
- Well, this exhibit just sounds fabulous. Add that in.
You get the idea. Before too long, I’ve got so much scheduled that Dad Windu and I would have to tag team lessons just to get any sleep. As for Padawan Learner, he’d get no sleep at all – let alone time for eating, playing, or taking a crap. On the flip side, his room would no doubt stay much neater.
I noticed early last week that I was moving into crazy over planning mode, so I took drastic measures. I walked to the library and checked out every last Agatha Christie mystery that I hadn’t read yet. I have a goodly stack (arranged by order of publication because, yes, I am that tightly wound thank.you.very.much) and have been working my way through them at a pretty good clip.
PL expressed concern at first about me reading so much, so feverishly, until I explained my reasoning. He has been almost throwing books at me now whenever I get within 20 pages of a book ending. “Keep reading, Mom.”
C-3PO: “Sir, it’s quite possible this asteroid is not entirely stable.”
Han Solo: “Not entirely stable. I’m glad you’re here to tell us these things. Chewie! Take the Professor in back and plug him into the hyperdrive!”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Nor, it would appear, am I.
I have been putting the 09-10 curriculum together for math, writing, history and science these past several days, all those final little tweaks and library material correlations.
I’m dreaming in a 3 by 5 grid now.
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